Texas Tech's Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy wins national community service award

AMARILLO, Texas (KVII) — The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy accepted the 2024 Lawrence C. Weaver Transformative Community Service Award from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP).

The award was presented to TTUHSC team members at a ceremony at the 2024 AACP annual meeting on Sunday, July 21. This honor is presented annually to one college or school of pharmacy demonstrating a major institutional commitment to addressing unmet community needs through education, practice and research.

“We accept this prestigious award with great pleasure and excitement,” TTUHSC Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy Dean Grace M. Kuo, Pharm.D., Ph.D., said. “We are among elite company as we join other schools of pharmacy who have received this honor. It is truly a testament to our faculty, staff and students' dedication and passion to the communities we live in and serve.”

The award highlighted the school’s work in medication safety through programs like Medication Cleanout, which has collected more than 83,000 pounds of medications and sharps from homes in its 15-year history; the school’s production of viral transport medium and administration of life-saving vaccines during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic; the school providing pharmaceutical care to thousands of patients at its two outpatient pharmacies in Amarillo and Lubbock; the special population services provided to underserved people and incarcerated individuals in Texas; and the research collaboration and training taking place at campuses, schools and communities across the region.

“It is evident that the administration, faculty and staff are dedicated to not only providing student pharmacists with the skills, resources and experiences to make a change in their community and beyond but they also are committed to continuous improvement,” Kuo said. “I’m so proud of our team members for all they do each day, and I am proud of the professionalism of our students who have a clear passion for what they are learning and their efforts throughout the community.”